(KSDK SPORTS) - The St. Louis Rams issued the following release to the public Friday morning:

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher has hired Tim Walton to serve as the team's defensive coordinator, the Rams announced Friday.

"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to add Coach Walton to our staff," Fisher said. "Tim is a talented coach and he's spent the last four years working in our system. He will be a huge asset to our staff and we are all looking forward to working with him."

The 2013 season will be Walton's 19th in coaching. He spent the last four years with the Detroit Lions where he guided the team's secondary, and last season, he added the title of third down package coach. Walton helped Detroit finish 10th in the NFL last season in third down defense as the Lions allowed opponents to convert just 36.5 percent of their third down attempts.

Prior to his time in Detroit, Walton spent 14 seasons coaching on the collegiate level. During that time, he coached 13 players who were eventually drafted into the NFL, including five first round picks and four second round picks.

Walton's college tenure included two stints as a defensive coordinator. He held the position at Memphis in 2008 and at Miami (Fla.) in 2007. In total, he spent four seasons with the Hurricanes. Walton was promoted from secondary coach to defensive coordinator in 2007 and helped propel the defense to a national ranking of 33rd in total defense. In his first three seasons at Miami, he coached the defensive backs and the Miami secondary ranked in the top 10 nationally in pass defense in 2004 (ninth) and 2005 (first).

In 2005, Walton's pass defense led the nation, allowing only 152.17 yards per game, and featured All-Americans safety Brandon Meriweather and cornerback Kelly Jennings as well as Freshman All-American Kenny Phillips.

Walton was at LSU in 2003 and his defensive backs were a key factor in the Tigers earning the 2003 BCS National Championship and a Southeastern Conference title. The LSU defense ranked among the nation's top three in four-of-five major defensive statistical categories: total defense (first, 252.0 yards per game), scoring defense (first, 11.0 ppg), pass efficiency defense (second, 89.8 rating) and rushing defense (third, 67.0 yards per game). Additionally, LSU ranked 18th nationally in passing yardage defense (185.0 ypg) while leading the SEC in four of the five defensive categories, including a No. 2 ranking in the league in pass defense.

In his first stint with Memphis (2000-01), Walton coached defensive backs. In 2000, the Tigers ranked fifth in the nation in total defense (first in rush defense), allowing only 275 yards per game and placed in the top 15 nationally in passing and scoring defense. He left Memphis to coach defensive backs at Syracuse for the 2002 season.

Walton began his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at Bowling Green in 1995. He was promoted to running backs coach in 1996 and then moved to coach the defensive backs in 1999.

In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Walton has had three summer internships with NFL teams. He spent the summer of 1998 serving as a defensive intern with the Chicago Bears, the summer of 2001 as a defensive intern for the Green Bay Packers and in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under current Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin.

As a defensive back at Ohio State, Walton lettered four seasons and served as co-captain for the Big Ten champions in 1993. During his time with the Buckeyes, OSU went to four bowl games, including the Liberty Bowl in 1990. He earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from OSU in 1994.

Walton and his wife, Tracy, have three children: Trei, Timia and Tyler.